Melbourne Storm 2009 season preview
March 7th 2009 00:53
The Lowdown
Making three successive Grand Finals for just the one victory will hurt the Melbourne Storm greatly, especially after last season's 40-0 thrashing at the hands of eventual premiers Manly.
The Storm have been the benchmark for the past three seasons. Their superstar backline was unmatched and their forwards were making metres at will.
Indeed with this dominance, it was no surprise to see Melbourne with such a heavy representation in Origin last year, particularly with QLD.
During this taxing period, the Storm lost three games and were slowly feeling the pressure of constant success.
As they approach season 2009, the Storm now face new challenges with a roster that is not as strong as in previous years.
2009 Prospects
For the first time in many moons, the Storm will enter a season without being favourites for the Premiership.
That honour has now effectively gone to the Sea Eagles, who blitzed the Storm in last year’s decider.
Melbourne must now regroup and once again show the NRL that their dominant streak is far from over.
They still have the necessary class to make this a reality, with Cameron Smith, Cooper Cronk, Billy Slater and Greg Inglis all still apart of the Melbourne juggernaut.
However, the Storm have lost some very valuable players. None more valuable than superstar centre Israel Folau.
Others that have departed are Michael Crocker, Matt Geyer and Jeremy Smith, who leave some gaping holes in the Melbourne roster.
With the salary cap now taking its hold on the Storm, they will be hard pressed to match the stats that effectively won them the minor premiership in 2008.
The Storm were the best performed team at home last season, registering 11 wins for just the 1 loss - A round 2 defeat against the Sharks.
Melbourne also set the benchmark in defence, conceding only 63 tries all year.
Although repeating that performance will be harder than in previous seasons, the Storm should still be able to dominate most opposition come 2009.
Their attitude in games is still one of the best in the NRL, not to mention they still have a roster that contains Golden Boot winner Billy Slater.
If injury steers clear of the Storm, as it has done so for the past three years, they will once again be a menace to opposing teams.
Prediction
The Storm are still a very classy outfit heading into season 2009. Their backline still has tremendous potency and their forwards all have the necessary experience to launch another assault on a Premiership.
Their 40-0 loss to Manly in last years Grand final has left many mental scars. But the Storm have become too good a side to let that affect them this coming season.
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